The Lockheed Vega was particularly
good for flying in cold conditions. This was made evident when
the plane was used by the famous explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins, on
his expeditions into the Arctic and Antarctic.

The cabin of the Vega was ventilated from outside through a
vent pipe that could run along the exhaust pipe from the engine,
providing heat to the cabin. The fuselage was made of two shaped
and smoothed plywood halves that were glued together. This
construction method provided more protection from the cold than
aircraft that were made of a frame covered with fabric.

The closed cockpit allowed pilots, passengers, and freight to
remain warm and protected from the elements better than the
earlier, open cockpit biplanes.